


You Were the Soul Mate, You Were the Crime

by starandrea



Series: Dreams [4]
Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Gen, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 09:05:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11506152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starandrea/pseuds/starandrea
Summary: Their first detention as a team happens two days after Rita didn’t destroy Angel Grove.  There’s a new student, an exploding locker, and a lot of notes in the air.  Billy spends most of his time writing to Jason and occasionally texting his replies to the rest of the team.





	You Were the Soul Mate, You Were the Crime

It was still strange, having Jason and Kim sit on either side of him during detention.  Strange in a good way.  It was significantly less distracting to have people he knew nearby than it was to be surrounded by students who were unpredictable at best and threatening at worst.  He didn't even need to look up when Zack sat down behind him, though he saw Jason glance back and nod out of the corner of his eye.

Billy bent his attention to the sensor pack in his remote detonation device, checking to make sure it was still easily swapped with the GPS tracker in his pocket.  That was the most important part of the conversion he'd practiced, even if it was superficially the least obvious.  He had to assume the device would be confiscated, and it would have to do more than appear benign.  It would have to actually be benign when he handed it over, or someone was going to get in trouble.

Probably him.  It would probably be him that got in trouble.  His mom had made it clear that she didn't want to explain to anyone why he had dynamite--or any other form of explosive, she said, though he'd pointed out that it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to have cleaning products or elemental magnesium or any number of other inconspicuous items that could be used to improvise an explosive device.

No more calls from the bomb squad, she said, and hopefully he wasn't about to disappoint her.

"We have a new detention student," the teacher said.  “Tommy Oliver.”

Billy had seen Kim's note fly past his head, had watched Jason open it and smile.  He was surprised when it went back to her instead of to Zack, and that was what made him curious about what was on it.  Had it really been meant for Jason alone?  What would Kim write on a note that only Jason should see?  Were they still discussing whether or not to date?  Kim talked about it like the decision had been made, but Jason had so far refused to confirm that he wouldn't date Kim or even deny that he was dating Billy, which made the whole situation more ambiguous.

"Tommy Oliver," the teacher called.  When no one answered, he repeated, "Tommy Oliver?"

Billy looked over at Jason, saw him nod, and he palmed the GPS tracker.  He made sure the detonator was under the table and out of camera range when he activated it.  He used the communication delay to crack the bottom open with one hand, pull the sensor pack as soon as it stopped vibrating, and replace it with the tracker.

Out in the hallway, there was a concussive boom.  It was followed by the crash a metal locker door makes when it's blown off its hinges, impacts with the opposite wall, and clatters to the floor.  Billy wasn't the only one in the room familiar with the sound.

"Cranston!" the teacher shouted from the front of the room.

"That might have been my fault!"  Billy raised his voice automatically, but he pushed in the control ball as he ejected the detonator, forcing it into his pocket and jamming the power switch into place.  "That might have been my fault," he repeated, lifting the device up and dropping it on the table as he raised his hands.  "I am so sorry."

"Uh, hey," called a voice from up above.  "I think something might have, kind of, exploded in the hallway back there?"

"Cranston, what is that?" the teacher demanded.

"It's a remote control for the drone in my backpack," Billy said.

"Did the drone in your backpack just explode?" Jason drawled.  He was leaning back in his chair, but not like he was trying to get away from anything.  More like he was just really relaxed.

Billy looked down at his backpack on the floor to make sure.  "No," he said.  "No, it doesn't look like it."

"Then what could you possibly have to do with the noise we just heard?" Jason asked.

"Well, I do have a history of blowing things up," Billy pointed out.

"Which is why you're here in detention," Jason agreed.  "Where we can all see you not blowing things up."

"Cranston, give me the remote control," the teacher said with a sigh.  "And the drone too.  Are either of these dangerous?"

"Anything is dangerous in the right hands," Billy said, handing over the device.  He dug the miniature drone out of his backpack, adding, "Or I suppose it would be the wrong hands.  Anything is dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Yeah, okay," the teacher said.  "Are you Tommy Oliver?"

"No," Billy said, frowning.  "No, I'm--"

The teacher was looking up the stairs, and when Billy turned he saw the student who'd mentioned the explosion in the hallway still standing there.  White, or native maybe, like Kim, hair pulled back and a backpack over one shoulder.  

"Yeah," the student said.  "I'm Tommy.  This is Saturday detention?"

"That's what they tell me," the teacher said with a sigh.  "Could be Sunday by now for all I know.  Take a workbook; have a seat.  I'm gonna call the police."

"Is that safe?" Trini called from the back of the room.  "What if there's another bomb?"

"Well, hopefully it's not in this room," the teacher said.  "If the police tell me to evacuate, we will.  Until then, homework or Better Choices."

"Hey," Kim said as Tommy came down the stairs.  "Did you see what exploded?"

"Something in a locker, I think?" Tommy said.  "There's paper everywhere."

"Hmm," Kim said, turning her phone over before she set it down on the table. 

"Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" Tommy asked.  "I'm new, so.  Tell me if it's weird."

"We're all weird here," Kim said.  "Do what you want."

Three other people were talking, including the teacher who was giving his name and address at the high school over the phone.  They weren't moving while they talked, which made it less frustrating, but Billy still preferred the muted whispers of regular detention to this loud and disorganized distraction.  He didn't have a map to focus on anymore, he'd finished the "Better Choices" workbook the first day, and now he couldn't even tinker with the remote control he'd brought with him.

A folded piece of paper flashed past his head and Billy grabbed it out of the air without thinking.  He looked at Jason, who was staring back at him without smiling.  He didn't smile even when Billy caught his eye, not even the little one he did when he looked away first.  So Billy didn't smile either.

He looked down at the paper while he unfolded it, but the whole room could hear the teacher saying, "What, I'm not profiling, he really does have a history," and "He blew up a locker; that's why he's in detention."

This wasn't the piece of paper Kim had thrown at Jason before.  For one thing, it didn't have her handwriting.  And it only had one sentence written on it: _Tommy's thinking about power coins._

"He had some kind of remote control device," the teacher was saying.

Billy looked at Jason again.  Jason was still staring at him, and Billy wondered if reading minds was all he could do.  Could he also put thoughts into other people's minds, if he tried hard enough?  Or thought "loud" enough?

"No, he says it operates a drone," the teacher said.  "I don't know.  Cranston, what does your drone do?"

"It takes aerial photos of remote locations," Billy said.  "To address safety concerns and to document things that might be harmed by excessive foot traffic in the area."

"It takes pictures," the teacher told his phone.  "It's a spy drone or something.  He says it isn't dangerous."

He hadn't actually said that, but Billy wasn't going to point that out.  

Reciprocal telepathy would be useful, he decided, when the teacher started talking about response times and parental notification.  Billy pulled out one of his pencils to continue the note.   _Our Power Coins specifically, or Power Coins in general?  And actual Power Coins, like the concept and what they do, or just the objects that we know as Power Coins, like seeing one somewhere and wondering about it later?_

Billy flicked the note back to Jason and swiped his phone to see new texts.  Zack's was right at the bottom, which made sense since Billy could see him blatantly ignoring the rules out of the corner of his eye.   _what's with the front row notes?_ he wanted to know.   _we're starting to feel left out back here._

 _Speak for yourself, Free Ride,_ Trini replied.   _I'm fine being the new kid.  I don't want to be the new kid saddled with another new kid._

"Okay, Cranston," the teacher said, setting down the phone.  "You're off the hook for now.  The police are gonna want to take a look at this thing, and probably interview you--probably interview a few of you, including you, Oliver.  But they tell me it's okay to keep you here as long as no one leaves the room."

More talking ensued, which was also against the rules, but the teacher didn’t try to quiet the muttering or enforce the usual approved work mandate.  Billy decided to risk texting, since he’d done worse already this morning.  If they decided he’d been the one to blow up--well, whatever Kim and Trini had decided should blow up; they hadn’t told him so he could tell the truth when he said he didn’t know what happened--then the texting would probably be overlooked.

 _Jason says Tommy knows about Power Coins,_ Billy reported.  Then, in the interests of full disclosure he added, _I don’t know what Jason and Kim were talking about earlier._

Trini’s brief style served her well, and her _?_ was the first reply.

Kim’s was second: _what?_

Zack asked, _The new kid knows we’re Rangers?_

Jason was the closest to the teacher, but Billy could see him watching his phone light up under cover of the table.  He didn’t stop writing.  He nodded once, though, a quick tilt of his head up and down, and Billy typed, _Yes.  Tommy knows we’re Power Rangers._

He saw Jason nod again, so he added, _How does Tommy know we’re Power Rangers?  Is this bad?  Or do we not care?  I mean, Zordon told us not to tell anyone, and we didn’t.  Well, we didn’t tell Tommy._

 _I didn't tell anyone,_ Kim’s message appeared at the same time he sent his.

 _Same,_ Trini replied.

 _Who would I have told?_ Zack asked.   _I try to pretend I don’t even go to this school._

A flash of white flew across his desk and Billy slapped his hand down on a folded paper triangle.  Another one flashed past from the other direction, and Billy lifted his hand just long enough to trap them one on top of the other.  When he looked up, Kim was smirking at him from the right and Jason from the left.  Or they were smirking at each other.  That was probably more likely.

While the teacher poked at his drone controller, Billy unfolded Kim’s note.  It was a colored lightning bolt with the words, _note #1 our band logo pass it on._  He obediently folded it back up and flipped it to Zack.

His phone lit up with a message from Trini, who said unexpectedly, _I think I want telepathy._

Jason, who hadn’t texted anyone since detention began, replied, _No you don’t._

“Scott, are you texting?” the teacher demanded.

“No sir,” Jason replied.  “Just using my calculator.”  It was slightly more plausible for the fact that he’d actually gotten out a textbook before he started writing, and Billy recognized the scuffed cover protector from their study sessions: Geometry.

“All right,” the teacher said.  “All right, that’s fine.  No,” he added, the second Kim raised her hand.  “You can’t go to the bathroom; no one leaves the room until the police give us the okay.”

Jason’s note was long and it started with, _All of the above:_ ✔️ _Has a coin._ ✔️ _Looking for more._ ✔️ _Knows we have them too.  Also I suck at mindreading so I might be wrong, but I think Tommy knows I know._

Having a coin meant Tommy could be a Power Ranger.  Zordon said that he’d protected the coins until they chose Billy, Jason, Kim, Zack, and Trini, which implied there were only five.  But Zordon had also said the Rangers were a legion of warriors, and five definitely wasn't a legion.

Jason thought Rita had a sixth coin.  Tommy could have a seventh.  Tommy could have had a seventh for longer than they’d had theirs, and longer exposure might mean greater knowledge of their capabilities.  Tommy might know Jason was telepathic because Tommy was too.

 _Band logo?_  Another text from Trini popped up.   _I call drums._

 _Guitar,_ Zack replied immediately.

 _We haven’t really hidden it,_ Jason’s note said.   _Anyone with a camera could have gotten pictures through the megazord cockpits, and everyone had a camera.  I guess it’s only bad if something bad happens because of it._

 _I don’t know,_ Jason had added at the bottom.  It was underlined and followed by a question mark.   _But tell everyone to be careful.  You said aliens might want to help us or hurt us.  Other Rangers are probably the same._

Billy caught the triangle Trini flung at him without turning, which didn’t seem odd until her text appeared on his phone.   _Did you hear that coming or can you see the reflection of it somewhere?_

 _Jason says be careful,_ Billy typed on his phone.   _Tommy has a Power Coin, knows we do too, and knows we know._

Trini had written in their band roles under Kim’s lightning bolt.  Her name was at the top with drums, and Zack followed with guitar.  Billy and Kim had been assigned to vocals, but Jason’s name had a question mark next to it.

 _I think we talked about how much be careful means coming from jason,_ Kim’s text said.  Followed by another that added, _tommi says no to being a ranger btw._

 _You asked him?_ Zack replied immediately.

 _How many of these power coins are there?_ Trini wanted to know.

 _Why am I on vocals?_ Billy typed.  He had told Trini he and his dad used to sing along with the radio together, but he didn’t see how that qualified him to front a band.   _I don’t have any experience singing in front of an audience._

 _I asked her,_ Kim’s text said.  There was a break and then the next text said, _her coin is green. do we think that’s bad?_

Billy stopped writing to Jason long enough to glance over at Kim.  She had her phone on her left knee and something else clutched in her right hand.  She must have shown Tommy her Power Coin.

Another text from Kim showed up right under the first two.   _bc it seems v ominous to me,_ she said.

Zack’s reply appeared at almost the same time.   _Wait, Tommi’s a girl?_

Billy had nothing to contribute to that conversation, so he added more questions to Jason’s note: _Do you think colors are related to personality?  Could there be more than one of the same color coin?  Is it more likely Tommy/Tommi stole it or found it?  Or maybe was given it, if there are two green coins and someone who had the other one passed it on willingly._

He’d already asked about band roles, so he folded the note back up and flicked it forward while the teacher was frowning down at his phone.  Billy wondered if he had texted the principal.  Or maybe the custodian.  That would make more sense; different people to do different--

“There’s more than one team,” Billy said.  Of course there was.  There was more than one crystal, so there was probably more than one group of people who cared about defending it.  Or them.  If all of those groups of people were Power Rangers, and they all used colored coins, the colors would have to repeat eventually.

Jason wasn’t looking at him, but Kim was, and he’d definitely said that aloud.  She smiled when he caught her eye, so he grinned back.  If there was more than one green coin, then Tommy--or Tommi--didn’t necessarily have the same power source that Rita had.  And since Rita’s power had seemed pretty corrupted, that was probably good news.

He looked down at his phone, ignoring the argument over whether the person sitting next to Kim was a girl or a boy, and typed, _Green might not always be evil._

 _Why don’t you just ask?_ Zack wanted to know.

 _Who cares?_ Trini added.

Jason’s return note skittered across the table in less than a minute, and at first Billy didn’t even think he’d read it.  But when he unfolded it, he found Jason’s hastily scrawled _bass_ next to his question about the band, and _I don’t know, knowing things is more your color than mine_ under the others, which was either a joke or an answer in and of itself.

At the very bottom of the page, Jason had squeezed in the words, _It’s Tommy.  I saw the attendance sheet._

 _if she's evil?_ Kim had texted when Billy went to add this to the discussion.   _I'm not asking that it's rude._

 _If she’s a girl,_ Zack had replied.

 _she is,_ Kim’s answer said.   _I’m sitting right next to her I can tell._

 _Just because someone is pretty and you want to have babies with them doesn’t make them a girl,_ Trini had said, and Billy automatically counted the characters to see if it was the longest sentence Trini had ever texted.  It wasn't, even when she added at the end, _Life lessons._

 _the whole point of going out with girls is that she can have the babies,_ Kim replied.

 _That’s a terrible reason for going out with girls,_ Zack’s message countered.

They didn’t seem to need any more opinions, so Billy just said, _Jason can see the attendance log.  It’s spelled “Tommy.”_

 _Hah,_ Zack replied.

 _that proves nothing,_ Kim said.

 _It proves that the name is spelled with a y,_ Billy offered.   _Unless it was misspelled on the log; that’s a possibility too._  He added “bass” next to Jason’s name on Kim’s note and folded it up, tossing it to her at the level of their tables.  

Then the police arrived.  Their presence was mostly non-threatening, but it distracted everyone for the two hours and fifteen minutes it took to search the school and interview everyone in it.  The interviews were brief once their expert concluded the explosion was caused by a defective aerosol can in one of the cheerleading team storage lockers, but Billy was careful to only explain how he'd gotten to school and come straight to detention with Jason.

He could have told them about the aerosol can if they'd asked: not where it was, but why it exploded.  But the rest of the team had tried to make sure no one would ask him anything he might answer in a compromising way, and it worked.  They asked him about the drone instead, which he mostly used to map topography.  The detention teacher confirmed that he'd been drawing topo maps for the last four weeks, and the police seemed satisfied.

By the time the police left, detention was almost over and the study hall atmosphere was unsalvageable.  The teacher didn’t even try.  “No one leaves before noon,” he said.  “Don’t hurt each other, and don’t break anything.”

That was the extent of his instructions.  The volume in the room escalated accordingly, and anyone who had been hiding what they were doing on their phone stopped hiding it.  Kim and Tommy were whispering one table over, and Billy could hear Zack talking to someone about youtube channels behind them.

Jason scooped up all of his things, swung his chair around, and took a seat at the corner of Billy’s table.  “You mind if I sit here?” he asked.

Billy would rather it be him than anyone else.  Of course, that assumed that it would be someone instead of no one.  Billy didn’t prefer no one.

“No, I don’t mind,” he said.

Jason leaned toward him, so Billy mirrored his position.  “What do you think?” Jason asked quietly.  “Are we in trouble?”

Billy considered this.  The police had left, no one’s parents had been called, and he’d even gotten his drone back.  “For what?” he asked.  “For, uh, breaking the rules?  It doesn’t seem like it.  So far.”

Jason’s gaze flicked passed him, and Billy waited for him to stop being distracted by Kim.  When Jason looked at him again he nodded, and Billy frowned.  “What?” he said.  “Why are you nodding?”

“Can I borrow a pencil?” Jason asked.

Billy handed him a pencil and watched while Jason pulled a piece of scratch paper from the back of his geometry book.  This close, he could read upside-down while Jason wrote if he paid attention.  After ignoring a text from Zack that said, _no canoodling in detention,_ Billy paid attention.

 _Are we in trouble from or because of Tommy,_ Jason was writing.   _Do you think it’s safe for all of us to go to Trini’s house after this?_

Billy turned to look at Tommy, who at that moment was sitting very close to Kim while they hunched over their phones, placed side-by-side on the table and probably trying to sync so they could write on each other’s screens remotely.  Clare had sent him a screenshot of one of Kim’s drawings the night before.  Apparently the exchanges were associated with increased social standing.

 _I don’t think it’s less safe now than it was three hours ago,_ Billy wrote back.   _If Tommy wanted to attack us, here’s as good as anywhere else.  And we don’t reveal anything by leaving together that wasn’t already obvious from how we’ve spent detention._

 _Why Kim?_ Jason wrote, as soon as Billy slid the paper back to him.  He underlined the question and then looked at Billy, waiting.

Billy shrugged.   _Because she’s the closest to the door?_

Jason smiled when he read the note, which was unexpected but not unpleasant.

A message from Trini appeared on his phone, directly below the one from Zack.   _Seriously,_ it said.   _Can you guys be like this at my house?  My parents will be so ambivalent that I have gay friends._

 _They’re always like this,_ Zack replied.   _I’m actually embarrassed._

There was a break in the text and then the next one added, _For us.  That we missed it for so long._

 _They haven’t been together all this time,_ Trini said.   _Have they?_

Jason slid the piece of paper up against Billy’s phone.  It said, _They’re not very observant but they do type fast.  That’s a skill that can save the world, right?_

 _They’re observing everything we do,_ Billy pointed out.   _They’re just drawing different conclusions about what it means._

Jason looked at him for a long moment.  Billy checked over his shoulder again to make sure he wasn't looking at Kim or Tommy instead, but if he was they hadn't looked up from their phones.  Finally Jason wrote something on his scratch paper and passed it back.

_Is us dating a logical conclusion from the behavior they've observed?_

_No,_ Billy wrote quickly.   _It’s just affirmation of the consequent.  If we were dating, then we would be physically comfortable with each other.  We’re physically comfortable with each other, therefore we must be dating._

He didn’t doubt Jason’s intelligence, but the social consequences of a misunderstanding were high, so Billy added, _Which we’re not, obviously; that’s the fallacy of the converse,_ before he pushed the paper back to Jason.

Billy caught Trini’s note while Jason was reading his, and Jason gave him a look that might have been surprise.  Or not.  His expression was unreadable, but Billy was used to that.

When he opened the note from Trini, he found Kim’s lightning bolt, Trini’s list of band roles, and a stick figure drawing at the bottom that was probably Zack’s.  But it was definitely Trini’s handwriting that had added color instructions for each of the figures.

Billy had colored pencils with him, but the instructions were baffling.   _How do I color stick figures?_ he typed on his phone.

 _improvise,_ Trini replied immediately.

 _stay outside the lines,_ Zack added.

Their inconsistent use of capitalization was its own social dynamic, and Billy’s ability to predict which of them would capitalize what and when was increasingly reliable.  Unfortunately it was more interesting than helpful in this situation.  He had no idea how not to ruin Zack’s drawing.

“Jason,” Billy whispered.  “How do I color stick figures?”

“I don’t know, just color over them?” Jason muttered.  He put his hand over their notes when he leaned forward, so that what he’d written was covered up while he looked at Trini’s instructions.  “Nice band picture.  What is that, our album cover?”

“I don’t know,” Billy told him.  “But I don’t know how to color over stick figures.  What if I just color in the spaces, like the heads and the drums and the guitars?  At least I think those are guitars.  They’re being held by figures labeled ‘red’ and ‘black,’ so probably they are.”

“So all our heads are gonna be our colors?” Jason smiled at the piece of paper.  “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Okay, good,” Billy said.  “I can do that.  Do you want to choose a red?  You should choose a red.”  He pushed pencils at Jason while Jason pushed his piece of scrap paper back at him, and Billy slid it up against the band note.

 _Are you physically comfortable with me?_ Jason had written.  It barely fit at the bottom of the page, but when Billy turned the page over there were just some theorems at the top and plenty of open space underneath.

 _Sure,_ Billy wrote.   _Well, as much as I’m physically comfortable with anything, which I guess is less than most people.  But you, sure.  I’d rather be around people who get me than anyone else.  Do you know what I mean?_

He took the pencil Jason handed him and gave him the paper in return.  He carefully colored in the head of the figure labeled “red,” then used it to color in the figure’s guitar as well.  Jason had lined up the other reds by the time he was done, so Billy put the selected red down and held up the two brightest yellows.

Jason pointed to the one on the left, so Billy used that one to color in the drums and the drummer’s head.  He picked his own blue, and there was only one true black.  But pink was a problem: he had light pink, and purple-pink, but no pink bright enough to look anything like Kim’s armor.

“Psst,” Kim hissed, loud enough to be heard two tables away.  “Billy!”

He swiveled around to face her.  Tommy was taking a picture while her head was turned, and Billy pointed.  Kim swiped the phone from Tommy’s hand without even looking.  “The purple one,” she said.

Billy nodded, waving when she took a picture of her own.  It appeared in their group text a few seconds later, him waving with Jason hunched over their notes beside him.  Kim had written _adorbs_ underneath the picture.

Billy frowned, looking from the band note to Jason’s scratch paper.  Jason hadn’t written anything else, but Billy turned the paper towards himself anyway.   _Are you and Kim still talking about dating?_ he asked.

He wasn’t great at expressions, but he watched Jason’s anyway, and it was definitely more like a frown than anything else.   _What?_ Jason wrote, and that was it.  He was looking at Billy like he expected an answer, which didn’t make any sense, since Billy was the one who’d asked a question.

He leaned over and underlined the question, and then in case it wasn’t clear, he added, _Have you decided whether or not you’re going to date Kim?_

 _I’m not dating Kim,_ Jason wrote back.   _I was never dating Kim, and I’m not planning to date Kim.  Why?_

“Oh, okay,” Billy said aloud.

Jason circled the word, _Why?_

 _Yesterday everyone talked about who on the team they’d date,_ Billy wrote.   _Except you._

While Jason was writing back, Billy used the purple-pink pencil to finish coloring in the drawing of their band.  He re-aligned the pencils, then started folding the band note back up.  He was done before Jason was, so he tossed it to Kim and waited.

When Jason passed him the scrap paper, all it said was, _Who would you date?  On the team, I mean.  Or off of it._

It was almost noon.  People were starting to gather things up, making the room noisier and less predictable than before.  The teacher was mostly ignoring them.

 _No one,_ Billy said.   _It’s really better if I don’t date._

 _Says who?_ Jason demanded.

 _I do,_ Billy wrote, surprised by the challenge.   _I don’t like dating.  But it doesn’t seem like that will be a problem, since no one on the team wants to date me.  We agreed yesterday that none of us wants to date each other, except for Zack who might want to date Kim.  And you, since you weren’t there.  Kim said she talked to you about dating and you agreed not to, but she might not have been speaking for you.  So I asked._

“All right, all right,” the teacher was saying.  “Detention dismissed.  Leave your workbooks here, don’t linger in the hallways on your way out.  Anything else blows up and you’re all suspects, so don’t hang around.”

“May I?” Jason asked, his finger on the corner of the scrap paper Billy had been writing on.

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Billy said, pulling his hands away.  He collected his pencils and sorted them appropriately, making sure his and Jason’s original notes from the beginning of detention were secure before zipping his bag shut.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” Jason asked.  He’d already put his book away, and he folded the scrap paper they’d been writing on into his pocket instead.

“Um, you mean more?”  Billy looked around.  “Or do you mean privately, because if you do, we should probably wait until we get outside the building.  So we’re not standing near any lockers that could but definitely won’t explode.”

“Right,” Jason said.  “Okay.  Outside.”

“No more exploding lockers,” the teacher called.  It wasn't an enthusiastic voice, but Billy couldn't tell if it was resigned or determined.  “Cranston, that means you.”

“No profiling,” Jason called back.  “He’s reformed now.”

“Well, I’m not,” Billy reminded him.

“Yes, you are,” Jason said.  “You’re in detention; you’ve done your time.  That’s how it works.”

“I don't think that’s how it works at all,” Billy said, but he followed Jason toward the stairs anyway.

Kim and Tommy were both still at their table, obviously waiting.  Trini joined them at the same time Billy and Jason did, and Kim introduced them.  Zack caught up just as Trini said, “Hey.”

“Hey, she speaks,” Zack said, looking at Tommy but standing closer to Trini than anyone.  “You must be worth it.”

“This is Zack,” Kim added.  “Zack, Tommy.”

“Hi,” Tommy said, and Zack waved.

“Anyway,” Kim said, “shockingly, we’ve got more homework to do, so.  I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah,” Tommy said.  “Okay.  That’d be great.”

“Nice to meet you,” Billy said, when Trini started walking and Jason followed her.  He saw Jason look back when he spoke, but Zack was leaving and Tommy just nodded.

“Yeah, you too.”  Tommy hesitated while Billy walked around the table, then added, “You’re blue, right?  So you know.”

Billy paused.  

Tommy lifted one hand, shielding it with the other hand as a green flame appeared.  “Tell your team,” Tommy said.  “I'm not the enemy.”

“Hey, Billy!” Zack called from the stairs.  “You coming?”

“Why do you think we'll assume you're the enemy?” Billy asked curiously.  “I mean, we do have kind of a history with the color, but Jason just said.  No profiling.  Don't fight us, and we won't fight you.”

Tommy smiled, and there was something funny about those eyes in the fluorescent light.  “Deal.”

Billy nodded, edging around Tommy and waiting for Colt to clear the stairs before starting up.  Jason and Colt glared at each other at the top, but they didn’t speak and Billy went behind Jason to catch up with the others.  Colt pretended Billy didn’t exist now, and he had no interest in changing that.

“Kim,” Billy said.  “Did you open that note I sent you a minute ago?”

“The one you were coloring?” Kim said, hitching her bag higher over her shoulder.  “No.  Why?”

“Because I’m not wearing blue,” Billy said.  It was possible that Kim had told Tommy everything about them when she revealed her own coin, but that seemed inconsistent with her typical behavior and one of them probably would have noticed, besides.  It was more likely that Tommy had some other source of information about them, and identifying the extent of that information might tell them something about the source.

“You’re the one with the pencils,” Zack said.  “That’s on you, man.”

Kim looked back at the table where Tommy still stood.  Watching them.  Billy couldn’t tell if it was meant to be friendly or some kind of warning when Tommy raised a hand and waved, but Kim lifted her chin before turning away.

“Let’s go,” she said, catching Billy’s eye.  “Jason,” she added, looking past him.

“Yeah,” Jason said, closer than Billy expected.  “I’m with you.”

So they left together, and they huddled by Kim’s parents’ car before splitting up.  “I didn't give her anything except my phone number and my least favorite class,” Kim said.  “But I showed her my coin, so she knows it's pink.  I didn't say I was a Ranger, and I didn't say anything about any of you.”

“Still not convinced she's a girl,” Zack said.

“Tommy and Rita both knew I was blue,” Billy said.  “They both expected me to know things.  It's circumstantial, but I don't like it.  I think it's suspicious.”

“Maybe that's a Ranger thing,” Jason said.  “Recognizing colors and abilities.”

“Or being evil,” Billy said.

“You think Billy’s power is knowing things?” Trini asked.

“Related question,” Kim added.  “You think Billy’s power is knowing things and you just disagreed with him?”

“This is all very interesting,” Zack said, looking back toward the school, “but not exactly private.  Maybe we should go discuss possibly evil colors where they can't overhear us.”

“Oh,” Billy said.  “Actually, Jason and I were supposed to talk.”

“Well, you can talk in my car,” Zack said.  “Or Kim’s.  We’re all going to the same place.”

“Don’t expect conversations to be more private at my house,” Trini said.

“It’s fine,” Jason said, when Billy looked at him.  “It’s nothing.  I was just… distracted.  I mean, maybe we could talk later.”

“That seems reasonable,” Billy agreed.  “Unless it’s more important than Rita’s possible successor appearing at our school with a Power Coin and magic that none of us can do.  Because in that case we should probably just talk now.”

“No,” Jason said, with the small smile Billy had been half-expecting.  “No, it’s not more important than that.”

“Sure it’s not,” Zack said.  “What is.  Am I the only one who was hoping Rita would just, you know.  Not have a successor?”

Trini raised her hand.

“Hang on,” Kim said.  “Did you say magic?”


End file.
